


let me be the one

by 616bucky



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 15513 Steve, A little, Actually 15513 not 616, Alternate Universe - Marvel Cinematic Universe Fusion, Avengers Endgame fix-it, But whatever, Comics/Movie Crossover, Crossover, Fix-It of Sorts, Happy Ending, M/M, MCU Bucky, Marvel 616/MCU Crossover, Post-Canon Fix-It, but yes comics, comic steve & mcu bucky, i dont even know if it's a fix-it, i tag so horribly im sorry, kind of, sad one more time, tw violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 06:37:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19290253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/616bucky/pseuds/616bucky
Summary: Despite losing each other every goddamn time they get to reunite they have found their way back—because their souls and hearts refused to end the line.or, Steve from Earth-15513 who lost his Bucky meets MCU Bucky who happened to lose his Steve too.





	let me be the one

**Author's Note:**

> hiii i'm very sorry for mistakes + inaccuracies with the secret wars info and such, admittedly i've only ever read planet hulk (2015) so i'm so so sorry. i tried. anyways if you've never read planet hulk or is unfamiliar of it, i tried to give context to it in this one just so u get the gist of it!! 
> 
> this one's for dev, @endqftheline. sorry for the long overdue, pal.

Steve marches back to Doomstadt with Devil Dinosaur, Bucky's metal arm situated upon his shoulder, never once letting it go during the travel. In slumber he would make sure it's tucked between his arms, no creature being able to steal it for scraps or for their own good. Devil made sure as well, always surrounding Steve protectively.

The path was rough and harder especially now without Doc Green for help—curse him either way—but sheer determination and fury fueled him and his dino friend as they traverse across the Battleworld.

Devil roared at anyone who attempts to get near Steve as they enter Doomstadt even though they meant no harm. _Easy, friend,_ Steve settles Devil down, leveling their breathing once again. With all the rage that is storming inside his entire being right now, Steve remains calm on the outside as he seeks for Stephen Strange amongst the crowd.

"Where is the Sheriff?" Steve demands one of the bystanders, a horrified look on the male. Everybody loves Steve, the Captain, but they can't say he's not intimidating in this close distance. Many prefer to watch from afar, watch him slay challengers, rather than interact with him.

"I have no idea," The man shivers, eyes darting from the humongous dinosaur and to the warrior, then to the metal arm he's holding. He shakes further. "I-I-I have no idea, Captain–"

Steve stomps and grunts away from the man, _useless_ , he thought to himself. Devil exhales a hot breath of disappointment, walking closely behind Steve.

"I know where he is," Another voice came, of a woman, as Steve turns as quick as physically possible, just like when Strange had told him where Bucky was.

"Tell me." Steve says firmly, his eyes sharp on the unknown woman. His gaze softens though as Devil exhales a gentle grunt, the dinosaur's head slightly tilting lower at the mentioned lead to his friend. "Please." The Captain pleads.

The woman pauses for a brief moment and the crowd matched the quiescence, wondering if the woman is about to face the wrath of Steve Rogers for not answering.

"West side of Castle Doom," she says, the veil covering her face barely allowing the redness of her lips to be seen. "By the forest. I heard some of the castle guards head that way."

Without hesitation, Steve looks up to Devil and climbs up him. Devil goes and lets out a battle cry, a roar certainly loud enough to ring throughout the entire planet, a signal for Strange to ready himself. If Steve can't face Doom himself, he might as well shoot his shot on his sheriff. He thinks Strange already knew Bucky was dead by then. He just needed the job done and had to blackmail him anyway, that son of a bitch—and he's paying for it.

"Thank you." Steve salutes the veiled woman once Devil quiets down. The woman nods and steps out of the way, letting Devil run towards where she had pointed, his footsteps quaking the ground. She reveals herself as she removes the black veil, red hair falling down to her shoulder.

"Good luck, Steve." Natasha Romanoff whispers to herself, almost like a prayer for guidance, something her friend from another universe very much needed.

In no time, Steve reaches the west of Castle Doom as the mysterious woman had claimed earlier, and there Strange was in the middle of the forest. It did seem like he's been waiting for Steve and Devil, his stance firm and collected. To be fair, Steve hasn't really seen anyone intimidate the sorcerer.

"Did you know?" Steve hops off Devil's back, raising his hand to show Strange the detached metal arm he's holding. Strange doesn't even bat an eye though, didn't even look at the arm and merely stared straight at the warrior, a grin on his lips which boiled Steve's blood further.

Devil snorts and bows to Steve in concern, but Steve pats his cheek to reassure. "You knew, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me?" Steve steps forward to the sorcerer even though the man has summoned protective magic circles around his wrists already, unfazed.

"The Red King said it's been a _month_ since he sent Bucky's head to Doomsgard." He stops a few steps away, eyes with such intensity that one would think he's ready to jab at the man in front, not that he isn't. "Did. You. Know."

"If I told you about it, Captain, would you have still accepted our request?" Stephen responds with his arms kept on the side though the circles are still there. "It's not important though, is it? It's been done. For your excellence, God Doom will reward you with–"

Before Strange could even finish, Steve lurches forward with a swift movement of his hand as he takes his shield strapped on his back. He still hasn't let go of what remains of Bucky. Not anymore, not ever again. Steve points his shield on Stephen's throat, its edge which had slain hundreds of men touching the sorcerer's clothed neck, ripping the fabric open. It's sharpness is unparalleled, the vibranium unavailable in this cursed land which makes it the most special. It still reeks of the blood of the Red King and Stephen smiles because _yes,_ that was what Doom had wanted. If his life turns out to be a casualty then so be it—but he can't say he's not afraid of how the Captain would end his life having seen him end others' up close.

"You're a _liar!_ " Steve growls right in the sorcerer's face, "You have magic. Bring Bucky back or I'll _finish_ you."

With Steve being on top of Stephen, he had locked both his arms with his legs, the sorcerer's hands rightfully detained from being used. Stephen starts to laugh but Steve doesn't find anything funny, and so he digs deeper into Stephen's neck, enough to make him bleed a little. Stephen chokes out a sound.

"I said bring my Bucky back, Strange!" Steve yells grittily, tears streaming down his face again. This is the exact same thing he had wished to the stars night after night. If there were any deities out there, those that guided him and Bucky to battles against impossible foes and decided to be on their side, those that aligned their fates to meet in Brooklyn as kids who only ever wanted to do what was right, those that gave them hope that there will be a place in harmony for the two of them _together_ —he prayed to them every night ever since Bucky was taken away from him. And now he lost him _again,_ and he's been betrayed by the same gods that he had to resort to this magician who he doesn't even trust.

But that doesn't stop him. They don't put the star on his chest if he's a quitter.

Stephen, upon realizing that Steve isn't here to play nor for his reward, scowls. "I can't bring him back," The magician squirms in Steve's grasp, though he doesn't move much due to the firmness of Steve's hold. "Captain, Barnes went there for _you_ –"

"And I'm doing this for _him._ I don't need you to talk to me about it because I _know_ , you clown," Steve pushes the shield further, alarming the wizard as he cranes his neck higher to avoid it. "This is what I want in exchange. I killed the Red King for you bastards. I don't want to hear your excuses. I just want Bucky back."

Angry tears fall down to Stephen's horrified face. The Captain isn't backing away any sooner, and he's pretty sure he's ready to chop his head off like what he did with the Red King, so Stephen yells out a spell in which a portal opens just above Steve. Steve looks up, confused, and then gets sucked up just like that, his scream muffled then gone once the portal closes. Devil Dinosaur lets out a roar and charges at Stephen, however he escapes into a portal as well just before Devil could even get to bite his foot. Devil whimpers as he prods the metal arm left behind in the scene.

The next thing Steve knows is that he's in a cold platform. His eyes open upon feeling the temperature beneath him, realizing it's glass. He jolts up and looks around, panicked, because wherever he is right now he knows it's not Battleworld. He hears distant voices, both very familiar, as a car revs its engine before the sound fades away.

"I'm still very confused, man. So that guy driving him is his son? How come we never knew about this? Look, I'm so grateful for the shield and all that but he could've told us about the future sooner so we could've prepared. Maybe Thanos would've been—" Sam's rambling gets halted when he sees a figure bolting towards him and Bucky. Bucky was looking at Sam, and when Sam raises his shield defensively Bucky confusedly lifts a brow before whipping his head to where Sam is facing. He gets greeted by a whole body thrown at him, tackling him to the ground.

Sam remains stunned. Bucky grunts, though he's fully covered by whoever just fucking jumped at him, his head carefully cradled. Bucky hears sobbing. He looks at Sam who's still standing there but has lowered his guard upon seeing a familiar shield on the male's back.

"Bucky… you're alive. Thank heavens. You're alive." Steve repeats as he finally pulls away, revealing himself to Bucky, still hovering above him.  

Bucky's breath hitches. It's _Steve._ But he's different. He's got numerous scars on his face. His hair is longer and is tied in a low ponytail, and he's much bigger, buffer. Steve doesn't wear his scale suit nor the quantum suit but a… weird gladiator costume with a painted star in the middle. He focuses back on Steve's face who still has red-rimmed eyes.

Steve left him. Both Steves, with the old one just a while ago. And yet… here he is again. With all the timeline jazz he's sure this isn't his Steve, that this is a completely different one, and he isn't his Bucky—but this one reminds him of Azzano too much when Steve finds out he's _alive_ that he might tear up as well because Steve for sure didn't react the same when he came back for the battle. Not that Steve needed to.

"Uhh, Cap?" Sam starts with furrowed brows, "I don't know what happened to you but you might wanna let Bucky breathe, yeah? You're smothering him."

Bucky's left there with widened eyes as Steve heaves himself up, his stare not leaving Bucky because if he does he might disappear on him again and he can't afford that. He wipes his eyes. He doesn't know where Strange had taken him but Bucky's alive and that's what matters the most.

****

Steve and Bucky had sat down on the same bench Bucky and Sam found old Steve earlier. Steve asked Sam if he could talk to Bucky privately, and although a little skeptic about this gladiator Steve, Sam complied. Bucky told him it's alright anyway.

"So you're saying Sam was the _original_ Captain America from where you came from?" Bucky furrows his brows at Steve, still having a hard time looking at him. It bothers _and_ reassures him at the same time that he bears the face of the Steve he knew. "That's great. In this universe you _just_ gave him the shield. I guess he really was meant to be Cap, huh?"

Steve nods and smiles. "He is. We joined his super-soldier program. Well, _you_ convinced me to join. You convinced me to fight for the country. I told you we weren't physically–"

"I did _what_ now?" Bucky raises his eyebrows in surprise, momentarily turning to Steve, "You know, I tried to convince you not to join the army back then." Bucky recollects fondly, fiddling with his hands as he stares back at the lake again. "But you were stubborn. I heard you even jumped in front of a grenade while in training."

"It was _you_ who jumped in front of a grenade–kind of, more like a missile," Steve replies, facing Bucky. "I told you to slow down. You told me we needed to hurry. The explosion was huge…"

Bucky stays quiet. He remembers Steve at the other side of the HYDRA base, waving him off aggressively while telling him to get out of there. He remembers himself shaking, teary-eyed, screaming _no not without you_ because he didn't want to lose Steve.

"I didn't want to lose you." Steve continues, now softer. He breathes out a shaky sigh as his hand placed on the wooden bench tremble a little, tensing afterwards. That was his only fear, really. Joining the army and losing Bucky. Unfortunately, it all led up to that coming true.

Bucky notices Steve's hand when he glances down to his side. His focus goes up to Steve's face, the blond's blue eyes hinted with tiny greens too familiar to disregard, tears welling up around them. Without breaking the stare, Bucky reaches for the hand, squeezing it comfortingly.

"I'm here."

Steve felt a lump in his throat upon feeling Bucky's metal hand on his own again alongside those words. He offers a sad smile. He still lost Bucky though didn't he? But he's here _again_ , in front of him, alive. A second chance he's not willing to risk away.

With his free hand, Steve reaches to caress Bucky's face, almost whimpering at the fact that he can touch him like this yet another time. Bucky smiles back at him as he leans onto the touch, and Steve gravitates forward with a subtle movement, his head tilting sideways.

Bucky freezes. He stares down at Steve's lips that were slowly parting but he swears his heart is about to rip out of his chest if he doesn't move and so he _does,_ flinching away, away from Steve's touch. This is wrong. This is wrong, isn't it? He's not his Steve—hell, Steve was _never_ his to begin with. Bucky's lips quiver as he looks away, rethinking about how he had let this happen.

"Bucky?" Steve mutters his name in the most heartbreaking tone that Bucky had to take a deep breath. "I-I'm sorry. Was I too straightforward, I didn't–"

Shaking his head, Bucky looks at Steve again as he finds the correct words to say. "No, I… _I'm_ sorry. I'm sorry but this isn't right. I'm not your Bucky, you're not my Steve. I shouldn't–this shouldn't be happening."

"Buck–"

"I don't like taking what isn't mine."

"Bucky, listen," Steve finally stops Bucky from rambling _nonsense_ , grabbing him by the shoulders this time. Bucky looks away with such pained expression. "Look at me. Look at me, sweetheart. Please."

Bucky turns.

It's the first time Steve's ever called him that.

"You don't know how important you are to me. You saved me so many times that I've lost count... You taught me how to be strong, brave, you made me believe I can do _anything_. You made me who I am, Bucky." Steve tucks Bucky's hair behind his ear as he smiles reassuringly, eyes watery because he's finally able to tell all this to Bucky when he should've a long time ago. "You taught me how to love… and I don't think I'll love anyone else as much as I love you."

Bucky's crying now. Silently. Tears are streaming down his face as he looks at Steve, swiping the strands of hair falling to his face with a whine he didn't realize he had released. With all the emotions swirling in his chest right now and the words seeping into his mind, Bucky is lost for sentences.

He knew that Steve loved him. Steve loved him enough to save him and give an opportunity to start anew despite the atrocities he committed as a HYDRA asset, loved him enough to believe that he deserved a second chance, but not enough to stay. Bucky understood it. And Bucky, too, loved him enough to let him chase his happiness.

"But I'm not your Bucky." Drawing another breath, Bucky whispers. "It wasn't me you spent your life with. It wasn't me, Steve."

"Then let me spend it with you onwards. Let me be yours." Steve says firmly, his decision solid already. "Because god, Bucky, don't ever say that I'm not yours," A hand slides from Bucky's shoulders to his face, cupping both and gently drying the tears rolling down his visage. "I am. I'm yours and yours only in all universes, in all worlds, in all timelines."

Bucky closes his eyes and lets a few more tears fall, biting down his bottom lip to stop it from trembling. He recalls the last conversation he and Steve had the night before when he desperately tried to convince him not to go. When he finally told him how he felt, when he thought maybe that would change his mind but…

 _I love you, Buck, I really do… but not in that way_.

 _I'm sorry. I wish I could stay… but I've waited for her my whole life. I can_ finally _get that dance. We can start over, can you believe it? You… You understand, right, pal?_

_It's gonna be okay, Buck._

And he opens his eyes and sees Steve again. Maybe this is what the other Steve was talking about, that it's gonna be okay apparently—Bucky doesn't know. He still can't comprehend what just happened, or how and why it did, however, all he knows is he _does_ want this. He has wanted this for so long. So he jolts forward and connects their lips, ignoring any hesitations.

Steve doesn't waste a second and pulls Bucky closer the moment their lips crash together, a hand roaming to Bucky's locks, entwining his fingers around them while his free hand goes just by Bucky's waist. They deserve this after everything that has happened to them in the past, no matter what they were, no matter the fact that they didn't experience it together.

Bucky thought it felt like fucking _fireworks,_ or a supernova inside his body, and it's surreal. How long have they both waited for this? He's practically melting in Steve's arms that he didn't even realize the breath he was holding. He pulls away abruptly to breathe, and Steve does too, their foreheads attached as if they're refusing to be anywhere farther. Bucky smiles over the tears that had dried out now, with Steve wiping the trails as delicate as he could. This is their second chance at each other and both of them know there's absolutely no reason to let go.

And so what if they didn't spend their lifetimes together? The next best thing to do after a hell of a life journey is to start over, isn't it? With Bucky, Steve isn't The Captain nor Captain America of Super-Soldier Program. He's just Steve. With Steve, Bucky isn't the Winter Soldier nor one-third of Winter Devils. He's just Bucky. And god, this is what they both prayed for since the heavens know when. Peace. Just the two of them.

"Well then, we've got a lot to catch up on," Bucky mumbles, pulling away completely to scan _his_ Steve's face, fingers tracing the scars etched on it. He wonders the story behind them, but they've got all the time in the world for him to figure it out now don't they?

"You're right. I still gotta tell you about our little friend called Devil back there. I wish I could've taken him here with me… but I don't think your Earth is ready for him just yet either." Steve says with a final peck on Bucky's forehead as if he can't get enough of him. He made the mistake of not showing that part of him to Bucky before and he won't repeat it again.

Even though both agreed they'd have to catch up, Steve and Bucky ended up holding each other silently with the sunset before them, soft caresses and grazing on skin indicating their worries of this being just a dream or not being real. However, with each time they hear the faintest of the other's heartbeat, it settles them down.

Luck? Fate? Whatever brought them to this moment, they're thankful. Because frankly, they wouldn't have this any other way.

How beautiful it is that two broken souls found each other in the most unusual and unexpected way, yet it felt like it was meant to be all along.


End file.
